Profiling Nathan: Romancing the Guardians, Book Five Read online

  “Wait a minute,” Nate half yelled. “I want you to know Talia is with me.”

  “What! What is she doing here? Did you tell her about the Guardians?”

  “Yeah, but –”

  “Dammit! You know it’s forbidden to breathe a word to –”

  “To outsiders, I know, but Tally’s not an outsider. She’s my true mate.”

  Dead silence followed; then Medina laughed scornfully. “I don’t believe it. You ink tattoos for a living, I’m told, not exactly a highbrow profession. Talia Werner is smart and classy and as straight-laced as they come. She would never hook up with somebody like you. You must have drugged her and kidnapped her.”

  “Oh yeah? Hang on,” Nate growled. Rising from the chair where he’d been sitting, he crossed to Tally, who sat perched on the bed. He handed her his phone. “Your buddy doesn’t think I’m good enough for you. He accused me of kidnapping you. You want to convince him I didn’t?”

  Talia thinned her lips to stave off a grin at his angry frown. Accepting the phone, she held it to her ear. “Dev, it’s Talia. No, Nate did not kidnap me.”

  “Uh, hi, Talia. You haven’t really hitched your wagon to that coyote, have you?”

  She laughed at his western slang. “Yes, I really have. Nate told you the truth. We are mated as he calls it.”

  “Well doggone, girl, I hope you know what you’re getting into. Since he has already told you about the Guardians, you might as well come with him to our room and hear what we’ve got to say.” He chuckled. “From the impatient look Michaela is shooting at me, she’s anxious to meet you.”

  Minutes later, a tall, buxom woman opened the door at Nate’s knock. She had honey-gold hair and skin that was almost the same color. “Come in,” she said with a welcoming smile.

  Nodding, Talia thanked her and walked into the room with Nate right behind her. He stopped to greet Michaela, giving her a peck on her cheek. While they shared a soft-spoken reunion, Talia grinned at Dev who stood at the foot of a king-size bed – a necessity for his tall, muscular frame. With his arms crossed, accentuating his bulging biceps, he looked like a pro wrestler ready for a challenge.

  “Hey, Snow White,” he boomed, using his favorite pet name for her from years past when they were partners. He laughed at her instant frown.

  “Hey yourself, Muscles.” She stepped to within a foot of him and tipped her head back to glare into his twinkling blue eyes. “Didn’t I tell you a long time ago to stop calling me that?”

  He scratched his jaw and screwed up his face as if trying to remember. “Now that you mention it, I reckon you did say something like that. Sorry I forgot.”

  “Uh-huh. I just bet you forgot. Not!” Laughter burst from her throat. “It’s good to see you, you big ox,” she teased, poking a finger at his hard-as-rock belly.

  “Same here, Snow.” Before she could stop him, he reached down, wrapped his mighty arms around her and lifted her into a bear hug.

  Talia emitted a choked cry, shards of pain slicing through her from her injured side. She shoved at Dev’s shoulders and he immediately released her, blurting something that didn’t register past the pain. She stumbled backward. Then Nate was there, supporting her with a gentle arm behind her.

  “Why’d you grab her like that, you bastard?” he shouted at Dev.

  “I didn’t squeeze her hard,” Dev said, looking horrified. “What’s wrong with her?” Suddenly, his face turned red. Clenching his fists, he started for Nate. “Have you been using her for a punching bag, you no good –?”

  “No!” Talia gasped. “It’s nothing like that.” The pain gradually subsided but she continued to lean on Nate.

  Michaela rushed to placate Dev. Laying both hands on his chest, she said in a soothing tone, “Calm down. I’m sure Nate would never hurt Talia.” As his furious red color began to fade, she pivoted to face Talia. “Do you want to explain why Dev’s hug caused you such pain?”

  “I … I was in a fight and I got knifed.”

  Nate snorted. “The murdering psycho who attacked Tally cut her up so bad that she damn near bled out,” he said bluntly. “She still has staples in the deepest wound in her side, right where you locked her in a vice, Muscles.” He glared at Dev.

  “Jeez, Talia, I’m sorry,” the big bear rasped, looking so woebegone that she had to swallow a bubble of laughter.

  “It’s alright, Dev. I should have warned you,” she said.

  Michaela gave him a comforting hug then turned to Talia again. “You’re not bleeding as far as I can see, but I want to check your wounds to make certain none pulled open, especially the deep one Nate mentioned. You don’t want it to get infected.”

  “Whatever you say.” Talia didn’t think Dev had done any real damage, but she hoped the good doctor might be willing to take out her remaining staples.

  Pointing at the men, Michaela said, “You both need to get lost for a while. Go have a drink and settle your differences. Peacefully!”

  The two exchanged surly glances but didn’t protest. Nate gave Talia a quick kiss and followed Dev out. Once the door closed after them, Michaela ordered Talia to remove her shirt. She unbuttoned her short-sleeved pink blouse and slipped it off.

  The other woman’s eyes widened. “Your assailant really did a number on you.” She walked around Talia, bending close now and then to examine a wound. “Dev doesn’t know his own strength sometimes, but he didn’t tear open any of the closed wounds. Even the staples in your side are holding.” She sounded relieved. “What about under your bra? Did the guy knife you there?”

  “He was a she. There’s a small cut on my right breast,” Talia hated to admit.

  Michaela shook her head. “Some women can be more vicious than any man. Mind if I check that wound?” She smiled reassuringly.

  “You might as well.” Talia slid the bra strap partway down her arm and lowered the cup far enough to bare the top of her breast where the short red gash stood out against her pale skin.

  “Okay, it looks fine. Nice job of stitching there and on all of your wounds, especially on your throat and arm. Did a plastic surgeon do those?”

  “So I understand.” Talia adjusted her bra and relaxed on a corner of the bed. She didn’t bother putting her blouse on just yet. “They kept me sedated for three days through all of the surgeries,” she explained.

  “I see. Must have been rough when you woke up, hmm?”

  “Kind of. Uh, do you think the wound in my side has healed enough for the staples to be removed?”

  Michaela smiled sympathetically. “They’re driving you crazy, hmm?” She squatted next to Talia and examined the wound again, gently pressing the skin around it. “Looks to me like they’re ready to come out,” she said. Rising, she settled in a chair facing the bed, folding one long leg beneath the other.

  “Thank goodness!” Talia cried. “So, can you remove them now before the guys come back?”

  “I’m afraid not. I don’t have a staple removal kit with me.”

  “Oh, of course. That’s not something you’d carry around with you.” Attempting to hide her frustration, Talia smiled feebly. “Perhaps Nate can take me to a walk-in clinic before we leave here.”

  “That won’t be necessary. As soon as he and Dev return, I’ll dash to a medical supply store and pick up what I need.”

  “I don’t want you to go to all that trouble,” Talia protested.

  “It’s no trouble. Let’s see where the nearest store is located.” Already tapping away on her smart phone, Michaela was ready to go when the two men walked in – appearing calm if not exactly friendly toward one another. Dev insisted on driving her to the store. Meanwhile, Talia was to lie down and rest, with Nate making sure she did.

  Close to an hour passed before Dev and Michaela returned due to heavy traffic. By then suppertime had rolled around. Deciding to eat in, the men went to get Chinese take-out, once again allowing the two women privacy.

  Removing the staples stung a bit but it was worth the disc
omfort. Talia breathed a sigh of relief as Michaela pulled out the last staple. “Thank you so much. It feels better already.”

  “You’re welcome,” Michaela said, applying antibiotic ointment to the long gash. “With time you’ll barely see most of the scars. Except this one. It will always be fairly pronounced, I’m sorry to say.”

  Talia grimaced. “I thought as much. Nate insists he won’t mind all my ugly scars, but I still wonder.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about that. The man plainly loves you.”

  I hope you’re right, Talia thought. Nate had still not said he loved her, but then she hadn’t said those words to him either. Should she? How would he respond if she did?

  A short time later, as the four of them passed around cartons of Asian food, eating off paper plates, Dev and Michaela spoke of the car wreck that had cost the life of Malcolm Flewellen, the venerable High Guardian. His niece and apprentice, Lara, was with him in the car and had also suffered critical injuries. Examination of their vehicle had revealed tampering with the brakes and transmission. The accident was no accident.

  Left to assume the mantel of High Guardian and fearing for her life, Lara had fled to Ireland, where her ancestral roots lay. Talia found the story of how she’d met her future mate, Connor O’Shea, and their adventures enthralling. Learning Lara had called for a gathering of the Guardians in a secret location, with the intention of facing their deadly enemies, the Hellhounds – a rather melodramatic name – Talia shivered with fear. Not for herself, but for Nate.

  If all of that wasn’t bad enough, Dev went on to relate Michaela’s abduction and torture at the hands of a Hellhound maniac in Galveston, off the Texas coast. Horrified, Talia watched the psychiatrist close her eyes for a moment at the harrowing memory and tightly clasp her hands in her lap. She composed herself when Dev wrapped his big hand around both of hers.

  She gave him a loving smile then focused on Talia. “If Dev hadn’t rescued me I wouldn’t be sitting here today, and I’m very much afraid I would have broken under torture. If I had, Nate and the other Guardians might have been found and captured, and the animals behind it all could already possess the scrolls we guard. Such an outcome is too dangerous to contemplate, not only for us but for the entire world. We can’t allow it to happen.”

  “I understand,” Talia said quietly. From that moment on, she believed everything Nate had told her about the Guardians and their hereditary duty. As for the prophesy he guarded, although she still found it hard to accept, she clearly realized how some, like the Hellhounds, might view it as a way to predict, even control future events. And she saw why that would be dangerous as Michaela said. The world didn’t need another dictator, another monster with the power to decide who lived and who died.

  Since the group agreed they should get an early start in the morning, they decided to turn in early. Talia put aside such thoughts as she returned with Nate to their room. She had plans for tonight, plans she refused to abandon because of frightening predictions and present threats. Once alone with him, she turned to loop her arms around his waist. Looking startled, he automatically returned her embrace, too loosely for her liking.

  “The staples are out of my side. Now you have no excuse not to make love to me.” Not giving him time to argue, she rose on tiptoe and fused her lips with his.

  He responded briefly then broke their lip-lock. Frowning, he said, “Just because the staples are gone doesn’t mean you’re ready to –”

  “Yes it does and I won’t let you put me off this time.” Slipping a hand around his neck, she started to pull his head down for another, longer kiss but stopped. Going rigid, she said, “Unless you really can’t stand to make love with me because of my scars.”

  His brows slammed together over his nose. “I told you before, woman, your scars mean nothing to me. I just don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Then prove it,” she challenged, tilting her chin up.

  “You are the most stubborn female I’ve ever met,” he gritted.

  “Yeah, yeah, you’ve said that before.” Leaning in, she slowly rubbed herself against his chest and gave him a sultry smile.

  It worked. Groaning in defeat, he crushed her to him and dove into her welcoming mouth with his tongue. His tight embrace did hurt some, but she wasn’t about to complain. She loved feeling his strong arms around her and his hard body pressed against hers. Their kiss went on and on until she could hardly breathe. With regret, she finally wrenched her lips free of his.

  “Take me to bed, Nate,” she implored, gasping for air.

  His eyes had gone dark with passion. Red color suffused his cheeks. Without a word, he took her hand and led her to the nearby bed. Bending down, he threw back the covers. Then he ordered, “Undress for me.”

  Mildly shocked, she stared at him as he sat on the bed and leaned back on his hands, waiting for her to obey. Deciding she might as well find out for sure if his claim to not care about her scars was true, she quickly unbuttoned her blouse.

  “Hey, slow down. I want to enjoy the show,” he said, cocking one eyebrow.

  She swallowed nervously but did as he said, freeing the last two buttons and sliding the blouse slowly off one shoulder, then the other while holding the front opening together. Then she let it part. The sleeves slipped down her arms and the garment fell to the floor. She waited for his reaction to the red, freshly heeled scars marking her torso.

  He smiled. “Nice, but I can see you’re a beginner at this, sweetheart. A proper striptease calls for taking a lot more off than your shirt.”

  She glowered at him, insulted by his innuendo that she didn’t know how to excite a man. She’d show him! Kicking off her shoes, she was tempted to throw them at him but squelched the urge. Eyes trained on him, she unsnapped the waistband of her jeans, lowered the zipper a fraction of an inch at a time then ever so slowly worked the denim material down her hips. When her mound was barely covered, she let the pants drop suddenly. They hit the carpeted floor with a soft plop.

  Never taking her eyes off Nate, she saw his mouth gape open and heard his sharp intake of breath. Smiling like a cat who’d just swallowed a canary feathers and all, she stepped out of the piled up jeans, toed them out of her way and turned, giving her one-man audience a view of her backside – bare except for the lacey bindings of her pink thong. The sound of Nate’s choked groan pleased her no end.

  Really getting into this striptease business, she aimed a teasing wink at him over her shoulder and unhooked the front closure of her matching pink bra. With a twitch of each shoulder, she sent the thin straps falling almost to her elbows. She wiggled her arms free and tossed the scrap of lace backward at Nate. Hoping it struck its target, she gathered handfuls of her long hair and draped it loosely over both breasts. Then she slowly pivoted, fingering the elastic band at the top of her thong. Nate straightened from his half supine position, eyes devouring her, making her heart pound and her body grow hot and heavy with desire.

  For a moment, Nate could only stare. She was the most beautiful, erotic thing he’d ever seen. The scars she worried so much about didn’t detract from the faultless symmetry of her form, the enticing curve of her hips, the delicate rose nipples peaking out between silky strands of blonde hair. His already engorged pecker hardened further, demanding freedom from his tight pants, eager to be inside her. But he could wait. Her pleasure came first.

  When she started to strip away her last bit of flimsy armor, he said, “No, leave it,” in a husky voice. “Come here.”

  She hesitated, not appearing quite so bold now, but then she padded silently over to him, halting close enough for him to pick up her heady woman’s scent. He grasped her satiny hips, leaned forward and nuzzled her soft belly, causing her skin to quiver. Her navel attracted his attention. He flicked his tongue at it and she jumped, making a tiny squeak. Her hands grasped his shoulders as he moved upward, feeling the wild hammering of her heart beneath his roving lips.

  He gently brushed aside her hair, unveiling one g
orgeous breast. Weighing the perfect globe in his hand, he kissed and licked circles around the distended crown then took it in his mouth. She cried out his name. Glancing up, he saw her eyes were closed and her head flung back. Pleased, he concentrated on her breasts for long moments until she began to twist and arch against him.

  Knowing what she needed, he glided wet kisses back down her abdomen, at the same time gripping the barrier that guarded her feminine treasure. He eased the wisp of blue down, coaxing her to step out of it, and petted the slightly darker blonde curls protecting her womanhood. She gasped and he looked up again, meeting her desire-ridden gaze.

  “I want you so bad I feel like I’m going to burst,” he said, voice raw.

  “Then do something about it,” she goaded, breathing hard.

  He’d planned to draw this out, but seeing she was as ready as he was, he nudged her back a step and rose. “Lie down,” he growled, throwing back the bed covers and skinning out of his shirt. A few more seconds, and he was as naked as she was. By then she’d climbed onto the bed and lay waiting, legs spread. It was all the invitation he needed.

  Wasting no time on more foreplay, he positioned himself between her thighs. She lifted her hips and he drove into her slick passage. She gave a breathy cry of welcome, hands latching onto his shoulders as he started to stroke in and out, supporting his weight on his arms to avoid chafing any of her sensitive wounds.

  She eagerly responded to his every move, their bodies locked in an age-old race to the summit of pleasure. They reached it simultaneously, crying out in victory. Once the mind-blowing ripples of delight ended and they lay spent in each other’s arms, Tally whispered, “I love you.”

  His eyes flew open. Caught off guard, he was speechless for a long moment. Finally finding his voice, he tried to explain his silence. “I haven’t said those words to anyone since my mother died. I need some time, honey. Are you okay with that?”

  “Sure, Nate,” she replied in a strange, high-pitched tone. Kissing him on his cheek, she said goodnight, pulled up the covers and rolled onto her side away from him.